Wednesday, August 31, 2011
This explains the poor driving in China
Awesome parenting... how old is she? Five? Shouldn't she be in a car-seat?
Here's what the dad says to the daughter:
(0:43) - 你好好开你的车 (drive your car properly)
(0:53) - 开车要注意 (pay attention when you drive)
(1:42) - 好了，加加(?)停下来让爸爸开吧 (okay, stop and let dad drive)
Well, at least she's not honking the horn every 2 seconds.
天不怕 地不怕 就怕老外說中國話*
*Days are not afraid to speak Chinese are not afraid afraid of foreigners
Google Translate is off by a
Monday, August 29, 2011
Government Bureaucracy... Step 1 Done
Woohoo, I take it all back! K-1 visa application approved (step 1) 2 months ahead of schedule.
Your Case Status: Post Decision Activity
On August 29, 2011, we mailed you a notice that we have approved this I129F PETITION FOR FIANCE(E).
Free Money
Well, kind of. When I sold off all my employee options from old work last month, I left some barely-in-the-money options un-exercised in case there was a sudden run up in stock price. Well, with the debt ceiling mess, S&P downgrade, and Steve Job's retirement, the stock price has dropped significantly over the last month. For many days, my remaining options were underwater, reminding me that my greed didn't pay off. Since these options expire in about 3 weeks, I can't wait forever for the stock to rebound.
Anyway, the stock was up a bit today so earlier this morning I exercised the remaining options; they were only $1.85 in the money. If I had exercised all my options together, I would have got ~$4.50/share for these... but $1.85 is much better than zero and I'm tired of checking stock quotes everyday. I still have some more employee options but they've been underwater for months so I'm not expecting to cash out before the expiration date.
To my primary anonymous reader, I'll buy you lunch with some of this free money when you get back from Sverige. After that, maybe I'll buy a TV with the leftovers. ========== As expected, as soon as I sell stock, the price goes up. Oh well, last week it was worth $0.
Anyway, the stock was up a bit today so earlier this morning I exercised the remaining options; they were only $1.85 in the money. If I had exercised all my options together, I would have got ~$4.50/share for these... but $1.85 is much better than zero and I'm tired of checking stock quotes everyday. I still have some more employee options but they've been underwater for months so I'm not expecting to cash out before the expiration date.
To my primary anonymous reader, I'll buy you lunch with some of this free money when you get back from Sverige. After that, maybe I'll buy a TV with the leftovers. ========== As expected, as soon as I sell stock, the price goes up. Oh well, last week it was worth $0.
False Patriotism
I saw this article while browsing through articles tagged "China" on Flipboard (iPad).
BERNAMA
I don't usually read/post about Malaysia (new tag!), even though my mom was born there. I think my maternal grandmother's family emigrated to Malaysia from Southern China in the 1800's to plant rubber trees. I have heard enough family stories to know that Dr. Teo is full of crap; the article basically blames the Chinese for ethnic tensions in Malaysia and conveniently ignores government sponsored discrimination. He begins the article by talking about unity and "non-Malays" but soon focuses on how the Chinese minority should "identify themselves with Malays as the original and dominant people of the country." Similar to Obama telling the GOP, "I won," Dr. Teo is telling the Chinese-Malaysians to accept that they're getting screwed.
According to my mom, my grandfather was the Minister of Education for Malaysia before its independence from England. We have a copy of some honor he received signed by Queen Elizabeth II. Anyway, after independence a lot of stuff changed. My grandfatherprobably lost his job and he fought to keep Chinese-language education available in Malaysia. Here's an abstract from a research paper:
These "preferences" equated to quotas based on ethnicity. Whether appropriate or not, Chinese emigrates dominate the economy in Southeast Asian countries which generates all sorts of tension, jealousy, and resentment. In Malaysia, the new government reserved most (cushy) government jobs and higher education opportunities for ethnic Malays, leaving Chinese and Indians out in the cold. In response, the Chinese community created a parallel education system. My mom, and the rest of her siblings, received their primary education in Chinese language schools and went to college in Taiwan; none of them speak Malay nor currently live in Malaysia. How's that for unintended consequences (e.g., brain drain). Dr. Teo is quick to compare cultural assimilation of Chinese in Malaysia to those in Australia. As far as I know, Australia (and US/Canada) does not have ethic quotas that limit the opportunity of its Chinese immigrants.
This article also led me to think about my nationalism and patriotism. If you ask me about my ethnicity (whatever that means), I would say I'm Chinese-American, which is something different from "Chinese" or "American". Even though I'm 100% Han Chinese, Sindy's relatives in Beijing refers to me as an American. Unlike the CCP, I don't equate being Chinese to supporting the party or socialism/communism, but I don't have a concrete definition either. If pushed, I guess I identify more with Taiwan than mainland China, even though I'm not "Taiwanese" nor do I support the DPP.
Ultimately, what I think I believe in is best modeled (though far from perfect) by the "Western" liberal democracy... and by "liberal" I don't mean the Democratic party in the US. There is no inherent "Chinese" or "Malaysian" nationalism; we should be proud of our heritage but only support a minimal government that provides equal opportunities (not outcomes) for all its citizens. In my opinion, a government definitely should not redistribute wealth (USA and Europe), maintain ethnic quotas (Malaysia), or place itself above the law (PRC).
BERNAMA
Adapt Yourself To Your Country And Prove Your Patriotism
Dr Teo said genuine unity would only exist if there was psychological assimilation, meaning the non-Malays were willing to identify themselves with Malays as the original and dominant people of the country.
"They should accept the way of life of the Malays in the framework of national culture, including the use of Bahasa Melayu as the national language, and not feel that this will erode their ethnic identity.
"Why is this difficult as compared to the Malaysian Chinese who migrathttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifed to Australia and underwent psychological assimilation very fast.
I don't usually read/post about Malaysia (new tag!), even though my mom was born there. I think my maternal grandmother's family emigrated to Malaysia from Southern China in the 1800's to plant rubber trees. I have heard enough family stories to know that Dr. Teo is full of crap; the article basically blames the Chinese for ethnic tensions in Malaysia and conveniently ignores government sponsored discrimination. He begins the article by talking about unity and "non-Malays" but soon focuses on how the Chinese minority should "identify themselves with Malays as the original and dominant people of the country." Similar to Obama telling the GOP, "I won," Dr. Teo is telling the Chinese-Malaysians to accept that they're getting screwed.
According to my mom, my grandfather was the Minister of Education for Malaysia before its independence from England. We have a copy of some honor he received signed by Queen Elizabeth II. Anyway, after independence a lot of stuff changed. My grandfather
Malaysia is a multi-ethnic country with three main ethnic groups: Malays, Chinese, and Indians. Malays are the largest ethnic group, comprising 57% of the population. Unlike the majority population in most modern countries, the Malays have been the least advantaged group both economically and educationally since the beginning of the independence period. After independence, Malaysian policy makers believed that establishing Malay as the national language and creating a national system of education would promote a unified culture, as well as the social and political development as a nation. Two policies were implemented to achieve these ends: the National Education Policy (1961) and the New Economics Policy (1971). In fact, the policies resulted in an educational system “preferential” to the Malays. The implications of this “preferential system” on the Chinese in Malaysia are discussed.
These "preferences" equated to quotas based on ethnicity. Whether appropriate or not, Chinese emigrates dominate the economy in Southeast Asian countries which generates all sorts of tension, jealousy, and resentment. In Malaysia, the new government reserved most (cushy) government jobs and higher education opportunities for ethnic Malays, leaving Chinese and Indians out in the cold. In response, the Chinese community created a parallel education system. My mom, and the rest of her siblings, received their primary education in Chinese language schools and went to college in Taiwan; none of them speak Malay nor currently live in Malaysia. How's that for unintended consequences (e.g., brain drain). Dr. Teo is quick to compare cultural assimilation of Chinese in Malaysia to those in Australia. As far as I know, Australia (and US/Canada) does not have ethic quotas that limit the opportunity of its Chinese immigrants.
This article also led me to think about my nationalism and patriotism. If you ask me about my ethnicity (whatever that means), I would say I'm Chinese-American, which is something different from "Chinese" or "American". Even though I'm 100% Han Chinese, Sindy's relatives in Beijing refers to me as an American. Unlike the CCP, I don't equate being Chinese to supporting the party or socialism/communism, but I don't have a concrete definition either. If pushed, I guess I identify more with Taiwan than mainland China, even though I'm not "Taiwanese" nor do I support the DPP.
Ultimately, what I think I believe in is best modeled (though far from perfect) by the "Western" liberal democracy... and by "liberal" I don't mean the Democratic party in the US. There is no inherent "Chinese" or "Malaysian" nationalism; we should be proud of our heritage but only support a minimal government that provides equal opportunities (not outcomes) for all its citizens. In my opinion, a government definitely should not redistribute wealth (USA and Europe), maintain ethnic quotas (Malaysia), or place itself above the law (PRC).
Saturday, August 27, 2011
My Web... or whatever
Webify Me
I'm not sure what this means; I was too lazy to read the results. I think it measures how much you are addicted to the web. There is a lot less stuff on my "page" than then ones I saw on Mozilla's website.
I'm not sure what this means; I was too lazy to read the results. I think it measures how much you are addicted to the web. There is a lot less stuff on my "page" than then ones I saw on Mozilla's website.
I've a feeling we're not in Irvine any more
One thing I've noticed is that the cars around new work (Hawthorne) are not in the same class as the cars near old work (Irvine). I saw this fine automobile on the I-105 yesterday:
Usually I can tell the make/model of cars on the road. This one is a bit tough. I see a Ford logo/badge... is this a Taurus?
There are also a lot of crappy cars with really loud stereos. My cubicle is right next to the window so I hear every "boom" car that drives by on Crenshaw Blvd. Is this part of African American culture?
We like the cars... wow, what a terrible song.
Usually I can tell the make/model of cars on the road. This one is a bit tough. I see a Ford logo/badge... is this a Taurus?
There are also a lot of crappy cars with really loud stereos. My cubicle is right next to the window so I hear every "boom" car that drives by on Crenshaw Blvd. Is this part of African American culture?
We like the cars... wow, what a terrible song.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Free Food!
Every last Friday of the month, a local restaurant would provide free lunch at work. This month the restaurant was Petit Cafe, a Mediterranean grill in El Segundo. Extra tables were set up in the lunch area so I ate with some other finance people. Typically Friday is a huge visitor day but I noticed a lot of red badges (visitors) while eating.
At the table next to us sat an Asian (Chinese? Vietnamese?) family of 10. I looked and only one person was an employee; the rest had visitor badges (2 were small kids). Way to milk the free lunch.
At the table next to us sat an Asian (Chinese? Vietnamese?) family of 10. I looked and only one person was an employee; the rest had visitor badges (2 were small kids). Way to milk the free lunch.
1911, The Other Revolution
The 100 year anniversary of the end of the Ching dynasty is being celebrated big time in Taiwan. My parents went on a semi-government sponsored tour in March where they visited a lot of government sites and even met President Ma.
Granta Magazine
Granta Magazine
There were two historic anniversaries this year in China. The first was celebrated in pompous ceremonial and portentous speeches. The second, the overthrow of the imperial system in 1911, seems doomed to slip by, noted without fanfare in a few museum exhibitions. Anniversaries, of course, can be a two-edged sword: they invite historical reappraisal. In China, revisionism, other than the Party’s own, is not encouraged.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Kpopella
... is back up!
http://kpopella.org/
I was feeling withdrawal syndromes from not being to download HD K-pop MVs and performances.
http://kpopella.org/
I was feeling withdrawal syndromes from not being to download HD K-pop MVs and performances.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Wumaodang
It's a tough way to make a living... 0.50 RMB at a time. I hope he's not related to Sindy.
Ming Zhao
Yet he posts 30+ comments in 2 days. It must be a full-time job.
Sigh... it only takes one trolling jackass to ruin the comment section... see "korean_guy" on any (and every) ChinaHush posting.
Ming Zhao
Comment: China has no choice but to reign control on the social media in China. As I have said above, US intelligence services use the social media in the countries they perceive as unfriendly to spread pro American propaganda. Readers may google using the words found in the Huffington Post link I put above to find more information from other sources. US is to blame for the lack of freedom in China because the former will always use China's lax to bring destabilization to China.
...
Comment: Dear readers,
Please NOTE that in a not distant future, I will be banned from posting comments in wsj forum for the simple reason that I will maintain to argue against false and unreasonable accusations against China. I shall forever keep my comments away from profanities. I shall prove of my ultimate disband and return with a different pseudonym to vindicate my conviction of this pseudo western journalistic fairness.
...
Comment: Well, the Americans are free to self deceive themselves or to spew rotten lies. However the trade imbalance trade is still caused by the Americans themselves and China is free from blame.
...
Comment: Chris
The fact was there was no Tiananmen massacre and the accusation on the Chinese government was proven to be a total farce. And to your claim of the alleged major killings that happened on the approach roads to Tiananmen was just hearsay in the secret cable, as the cable only mentioned hearing gunshots. The fact was in the last 22 years the western media did not mention of such killings. So from are you simply basing your lie on hearsay?
...
Comment: Running a country is more difficult than operating a brain. If brain surgeons are not elected but trained and appointed, why should a government is made by the process of campaigning and election. That process is good only for choosing a beauty queen or an academy award winner.
...
Comment: Americans are self righteous and cowards. WSJ blocks comments and commenters from those defending China while the Americans are mostly self deceived, bitter and blind. What a pathetic country of fools that deserves to collapse.
WSJ forum is nothing more than self gratifying mental masturbation by the Americans.
Yet he posts 30+ comments in 2 days. It must be a full-time job.
Sigh... it only takes one trolling jackass to ruin the comment section... see "korean_guy" on any (and every) ChinaHush posting.
Government Contracts
I sat through a two hour seminar on federal government contracts. It was mostly about how they determine which costs are allowable on cost-plus contracts and the ridiculous record keeping and auditing requirements. I guess the goal is to make sure contractors don't make too much profit on government contracts yet are able to recoup costs plus make a profit on special (non-commercial) projects. This just leads to all sorts of inefficiencies and waste in my opinion. Since the government only allow a small profit margin, the goal is then to categorize as much as you can into "allowable" costs, which then means lots of lots of audits. It's like a huge game of hide-and-seek except it's costing me and every taxpayer. The government infrastructure required for these DCAA audits and accounting resources at contractors to respond to audits can surely be put to more productive use. The entire process is so counter-intuitive to how business is done in the private sector that I sat there shaking my head multiple times throughout the seminar.
I just wish the federal government would apply the same financial rigors to themselves. How many jobs did TARP/Porkulus create again?
FAR 31 - Contract Cost Principles and Procedures
Definitely not how business is done in China.
I just wish the federal government would apply the same financial rigors to themselves. How many jobs did TARP/Porkulus create again?
FAR 31 - Contract Cost Principles and Procedures
31.205-51 Costs of alcoholic beverages.
Costs of alcoholic beverages are unallowable.
Definitely not how business is done in China.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Really Really Bad Google Voice
I tried calling Sindy this morning while driving to work. I've noticed that Google Voice connections are very inconsistent, especially when I'm calling China. Sindy also said that the caller ID on my calls appear to come from random numbers all over China. Maybe they're using multiple networks and some are more flaky than others. Anyway, here's the call log from this morning:
Most of the calls were made on my Samsung Galaxy (T-Mobile) but one call was made with the work iPhone (AT&T). Typically the call would go through and cut off immediately or the audio was so bad (choppy) that it was incomprehensible. I did have a decent conversation with Sindy during the drive but that was using Skype over AT&T's 3G network... but that got cut off too. Since I was driving, that meant I also had to struggle with the temperamental phone connect system in my car, especially with 2 Bluetooth phones.
Before my anonymous critics jump all over me, I'm not complaining about the cost. It's really cheap to call China for only 2 cents/minute. I just wished it worked more consistently.
8/22/11 9:25 AM 6 minutes long and cost $0.10
8/22/11 9:24 AM 1 minute long and cost $0.02
8/22/11 9:22 AM 1 minute long and cost $0.02
8/22/11 9:08 AM 2 minutes long and cost $0.02
8/22/11 9:06 AM 1 minute long and cost $0.02
8/22/11 9:03 AM 1 minute long and cost $0.02
8/22/11 9:00 AM 3 minutes long and cost $0.04
8/22/11 8:58 AM 1 minute long and cost $0.02
Most of the calls were made on my Samsung Galaxy (T-Mobile) but one call was made with the work iPhone (AT&T). Typically the call would go through and cut off immediately or the audio was so bad (choppy) that it was incomprehensible. I did have a decent conversation with Sindy during the drive but that was using Skype over AT&T's 3G network... but that got cut off too. Since I was driving, that meant I also had to struggle with the temperamental phone connect system in my car, especially with 2 Bluetooth phones.
Before my anonymous critics jump all over me, I'm not complaining about the cost. It's really cheap to call China for only 2 cents/minute. I just wished it worked more consistently.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
China's Dead Sea
WSJ - China Realtime Report (slide 7/7)
Supposedly that's the local name for this salt water swimming pool in Daying county, Sichuan (50 miles east of Chengdu)
Supposedly that's the local name for this salt water swimming pool in Daying county, Sichuan (50 miles east of Chengdu)
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Apple Control Freaks
I plugged my iPad into my PC this morning and got a message that basically said unless I authorize my computer, all 54 apps on my iPad would be deleted. WTF? I then tried to authorize my PC and it said all 5 slots have been used and I need to deauthorize something else. Arg! I have lots of computers (probably too many) and I can't remember which ones I have authorized on my really old Apple iTunes account. Fortunately, the first computer I picked (Sony Vaio) was authorized.
Anyway, now the iPad is backing up onto my PC. I also plug in my work iPhone and iPods into the same PC. Each time I switch devices, iTunes would freak out and give me all sorts of warning messages since it/Apple wants to managed everything everywhere. I've selected that I want to manually manage my songs/apps but to no avail... I constantly get these conflicting messages about deleting everything on each device.
I blame Steve Jobs.
==========
Great, iTunes is "not responding" while backing up my iPad (it's sitting at 100%). I guess I can't update iOS without wiping out everything on the iPad. Arg!
Anyway, now the iPad is backing up onto my PC. I also plug in my work iPhone and iPods into the same PC. Each time I switch devices, iTunes would freak out and give me all sorts of warning messages since it/Apple wants to managed everything everywhere. I've selected that I want to manually manage my songs/apps but to no avail... I constantly get these conflicting messages about deleting everything on each device.
I blame Steve Jobs.
==========
Great, iTunes is "not responding" while backing up my iPad (it's sitting at 100%). I guess I can't update iOS without wiping out everything on the iPad. Arg!
Friday, August 12, 2011
Hawthorne Airport
My work is right next to the Hawthorne airport. The municipal airport is a right next to the 105 freeway by Crenshaw Blvd and has only one 4965 feet runway. This Monday, I got lunch at a nearby Quiznos and walked by the end of the runway while a small jet was ready for take-off. I was surprised that jets could use the airport since I thought the runway was too short, and how loud the exhaust noise was, even from across the street.
I looked up the tail number (N650W) and found out it was a Cessina Citation III and it flies in/out of Hawthorne airport quite often. I know that our CEO sometimes flies his jet out of Hawthorne and turns out it's an ever bigger jet (Dassault Falcon 900).
I looked up the tail number (N650W) and found out it was a Cessina Citation III and it flies in/out of Hawthorne airport quite often. I know that our CEO sometimes flies his jet out of Hawthorne and turns out it's an ever bigger jet (Dassault Falcon 900).
No More China Posts...
... about CCP thugs; I'll stick to personal photos or harmless stuff about China. Everyday I read news and other articles about China and a lot of it makes me sick to my stomach. If I linked and commented on every injustice, I wouldn't get any work done.
I think deep down, I'm disappointed thatno one not enough local people in China cares about their society to do anything. It seems like everyone is trying to make as much money as fast as possible and ignore the fact that a corrupt dictatorship cannot last indefinitely. Of course, I could be completely wrong... maybe people in China love their un-elected government. I've visited China many times but that's completely different from living there. It's easy to criticize from thousands of miles away behind a keyboard; I wonder how outspoken I would be if I was under constant surveillance and threat of arrest/torture by the PSB.
Anyway, as I posted before, a revolution is coming. Just look at Chinese history and you see that every authoritarian dynasty comes to an end. The hope is that China can transition peacefully to a more fair and equitable society (because "socialism with Chinese characteristics" is not working) but probably change will be violent and a lot of people will die (see Libya). Sigh... :(
I guess there's nothing else to post about other than food and K-pop girls.
I think deep down, I'm disappointed that
Anyway, as I posted before, a revolution is coming. Just look at Chinese history and you see that every authoritarian dynasty comes to an end. The hope is that China can transition peacefully to a more fair and equitable society (because "socialism with Chinese characteristics" is not working) but probably change will be violent and a lot of people will die (see Libya). Sigh... :(
I guess there's nothing else to post about other than food and K-pop girls.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Government Accountability
Is this for real? How can sh*t like this happen, even in China? It costs a lot of money to keep a gang of thugs around to essentially blockade a family inside their house. Did the Cultural Revolution strip away all humanity and compassion?
Front Line
Where are the wumaodang? How can anyone, regardless how nationalistic you are, support this BS? If a government systematically beats up blind people and starves six-year old kids, then it's illegitimate, period.
Wikipedia article about Chen Guangcheng
Front Line
Human rights defender Mr Chen Guangcheng, along with his wife Ms Yuan Weijing, his mother, and six-year old daughter, have now been under house arrest for almost a year, during which time they have been completely isolated from the outside world, and forced to endure severe food shortages as none of the family is being permitted to leave the property.
Where are the wumaodang? How can anyone, regardless how nationalistic you are, support this BS? If a government systematically beats up blind people and starves six-year old kids, then it's illegitimate, period.
Wikipedia article about Chen Guangcheng
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Government Bureaucracy... A Response!
I got a reply from the US Consulate in Guangzhou. To recap from my previous blog post, I received a request for evidence as part of my I-129F application for Sindy. The US government wants more information regarding our respective divorces though the request was kinda vague:
When I called USCIS here, the agent that helped me had no idea what their own department was asking for. Sindy also checked with her government friends in Beijing and they have not heard of such a document. I also sent a long email to the US Consulate in Guangzhou asking for their help since they process all the immigrant visas from China. First, I'm surprised that they responded so fast as I only sent the message on Friday. However, as expected, they weren't much help. This is the entire response:
Dang it! Who do I ask then? I get a (basically anonymous) request for documentation but can't reach anyone to clarify what they want. More than anything else, I was fearing such an encounter with the bureaucratic black hole that is the US government. I know they want to be thorough and not let any fraudulent cases through but a least give me a name so I can ask questions when necessary.
Sigh... our next step is to get an official statement from the Beijing government/court that the only document is the divorce settlement and what the USCIS is asking for does not exist (and translate it to English). Heh, that should be easy...
Submit a legible copy of the final divorce decree signed by a judge or magistrate that shows proof of filing, or the death certificate issued by the civil authorities, that terminated the prior marriage(s) between xxx, and between xxx.
When I called USCIS here, the agent that helped me had no idea what their own department was asking for. Sindy also checked with her government friends in Beijing and they have not heard of such a document. I also sent a long email to the US Consulate in Guangzhou asking for their help since they process all the immigrant visas from China. First, I'm surprised that they responded so fast as I only sent the message on Friday. However, as expected, they weren't much help. This is the entire response:
We regret that no such information is available here.
Sincerely,
Immigrant Visa Unit
U.S. Consulate General Guangzhou
1 Shamian South Street
Guangzhou, Guangdong 510133
PRC
Dang it! Who do I ask then? I get a (basically anonymous) request for documentation but can't reach anyone to clarify what they want. More than anything else, I was fearing such an encounter with the bureaucratic black hole that is the US government. I know they want to be thorough and not let any fraudulent cases through but a least give me a name so I can ask questions when necessary.
Sigh... our next step is to get an official statement from the Beijing government/court that the only document is the divorce settlement and what the USCIS is asking for does not exist (and translate it to English). Heh, that should be easy...
Friday, August 5, 2011
Government Bureaucracy
I received a form I-797E from USCIS yesterday. They government wants more documents from me for my I-129F application. I was pretty sure I sent in every piece of documentation they wanted so I was surprised they want more divorce stuff, for both Sindy and me. I looked up my divorce at the court website and found that there was a form that basically said the judgement was filed with the court. After digging around boxes and boxes, I actually found the copy that was sent to me. Whew...
However, after talking to Sindy, she has no idea what the USCIS wants from her side. I think the US government is being lazy and ethnocentric. They're asking for something in the vaguest terms and expect people from other countries to comply with a US-like form. Anyway, I placed a call to USCIS customer service center today. First, their automated menu sucks... like most systems, it doesn't explicitly tell you how to directly reach a live person. After digging through menu after menu, I reached a person who spoke Spanish to me, then hung up. WTF? On the second try, I reached someone speaking English, told her my story, she transferred me to an immigration agent, who basically told me "I dunno." Awesome. He was pretty nice on the phone but was basically zero help. I asked if I should go to a field office in person... he replied, "Sure, but the window agent probably can't help you either." Great.
I think the gist of the conversation was the form has all the info I need, even though we both agree that it doesn't, and the government bureaucracy is too big for me to actually contact the one who made the decision to ask for more info. Sigh... I ended up sending an email to the Guangzhou consulate since they handle all immigrant visas in China. We'll see if anyone answers me.
The helpful guy on the phone at USCIS also suggested I send in the same divorce papers from China (the USCIS already has the original + translation) and write a letter saying that's all we have. I'm pretty sure that won't work and will probably get my case delayed/rejected.
Ugh... I don't want to move to China!
However, after talking to Sindy, she has no idea what the USCIS wants from her side. I think the US government is being lazy and ethnocentric. They're asking for something in the vaguest terms and expect people from other countries to comply with a US-like form. Anyway, I placed a call to USCIS customer service center today. First, their automated menu sucks... like most systems, it doesn't explicitly tell you how to directly reach a live person. After digging through menu after menu, I reached a person who spoke Spanish to me, then hung up. WTF? On the second try, I reached someone speaking English, told her my story, she transferred me to an immigration agent, who basically told me "I dunno." Awesome. He was pretty nice on the phone but was basically zero help. I asked if I should go to a field office in person... he replied, "Sure, but the window agent probably can't help you either." Great.
I think the gist of the conversation was the form has all the info I need, even though we both agree that it doesn't, and the government bureaucracy is too big for me to actually contact the one who made the decision to ask for more info. Sigh... I ended up sending an email to the Guangzhou consulate since they handle all immigrant visas in China. We'll see if anyone answers me.
The helpful guy on the phone at USCIS also suggested I send in the same divorce papers from China (the USCIS already has the original + translation) and write a letter saying that's all we have. I'm pretty sure that won't work and will probably get my case delayed/rejected.
Ugh... I don't want to move to China!
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Warning
My current boss, who was my ex-boss a few years ago, got a call from my ex-company's CFO. It was a courtesy call but basically he wanted us to stop recruiting at Broadcom. Other than me, there is one more financial analyst starting in a few weeks; coincidentally, my current boss and I recruited her from USC about 5 years ago.
I was ready to quit anyway so it really shouldn't count. Since I still have some vested options, my first thought was that he (Broadcom's CFO) should hang up the phone and work on raising the stock price. Since I was there for so long and recruited a lot of the current analysts, I know morale in finance is really low. It doesn't take much to get people interested in a new opportunity. Maybe they should fix their problems so people want to stay...
I was ready to quit anyway so it really shouldn't count. Since I still have some vested options, my first thought was that he (Broadcom's CFO) should hang up the phone and work on raising the stock price. Since I was there for so long and recruited a lot of the current analysts, I know morale in finance is really low. It doesn't take much to get people interested in a new opportunity. Maybe they should fix their problems so people want to stay...
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
USCIS Email
I received an email from USCIS saying they sent a request for more info on the K-1 visa application through regular mail today. I'm surprised that they're reviewing my file already since it's been less than 3 months; the website said that the wait time was going to be ~5 months. I hope it's something simple, though I can't imaging what I left out of the package. I would suck if they wanted more documents from Sindy since I was just in Beijing last week.
Crossing fingers...
Crossing fingers...
Tokyo/Beijing Photos (long)
I really didn't do anything this trip to Asia. In fact, I sat on my ass in the hotel quite often since Sindy had several surgeries, usually first thing in the morning so I waited for her to finish. I'll just post some photos:
More Tokyo... this was walking away from Hamamatsucho station towards Tokyo Tower (Shibadaimon?). There were lots of interesting looking shops along the street (and lots of vending machines) but since it was before 6am, everything was closed, except for the 24 hour Yoshinoya.
I posted this below already; it looks like a dimsum place. The "menu" reads (L to R): egg rolls, shrimp shiumai, steamed buns, shrimp dumplings, something mantou, pork buns, and turnip cake. ¥480 is about $6... pretty expensive. Google Street view photo does not have the red stickers on the front window.
There was a massage place next to the Yoshinoya (5th floor). Judging from the prices, it's a real massage place. The "massage parlors" charge ¥25,000 and up.
It was only 6:30am and there were lots of people on the returning monorail. China has more people but I think Japan is probably more crowded in comparison since there is so little land.
Lunch on ANA flight from HND to PEK. I got the beef option (the other choice was fish) and it was surprisingly good. The cold udon was pretty good too.
Welcome to Chi**cough**na!
Sign on the back of my hotel room door, right below the useless Chinglish emergency evacuation instructions. Basically it says "Stop/Refrain from pornography, gambling, and poison (illegal drugs)". Oh, that explains the condoms and other "adults goods" for sale on my nightstand. The police cartoons are cute; not at all like the real-life thugs that beat up demonstrators and journalists.
Food items for sale at a market next to the hotel. They rearranged everything since the last time I was here. It's much more organized but the customer service is bad as before.
Lunch at Sindy's parents' apartment. They always cook too much food when I visit.
Sindy's Chow Chow "face basin"
Dinner at fancy restaurant. There was pretty much no one else there and it was already 7pm. This is some sort of root/yam that supposed to have some medicinal properties. The purple stuff is blueberry jam.
Since it was Sindy's birthday, we ordered fish with noodles which is supposed to signify long life or something.
It rained for two days while I was there. The second day was sunny and clear, though the PM2.5 and PM5 levels are probably still pretty high.
Some awesome Chinglish at a Beijing Capital Airport souvenir store. Someone tried to fix it with a thin marker but it was only marginally better.
My flight (NH1256) from Beijing to Tokyo. The air was crappy again.
Whenever there was turbulence in the air, the pilot would turn on the seat belt sign but a flight attendant also walked up/down the aisles showing a latched seat belt. I've never seen this on any other airlines.
Since international flights at Haneda were reinstated only awhile ago, the new terminal was pretty deserted. This is the central shopping area in the terminal, with stores like Gucci, Cartier, Rolex, etc.
Rolex watch for ¥3M+
Super expensive whisky from Chivas
The rest of the terminal was empty too. This was near my gate for the HND to LAX flight. People started arriving only about 60 minutes before the scheduled departure time.
What's this? Am I back in China again?!
Whew... I don't have to squat...
... and I get to wash my "posterior" too? Awesome!
This girl kept trying to take a photo of the runway area. I think this was attempt 3 out of 4 or 5. Hello? Turn off the flash so it won't reflect back and blind your camera's CCD.
MTA Green Line platform at Aviation/I-105. I was still trying to figure out the ticket vending machine when some old black dude came up to me to ask for change. Since the fare was $1.50 and I put in $2, I gave him the 50 cents. Really... even walking around at midnight in Beijing (in the rain), I was less worried than being in LA during daytime.
I wished I had more time during my first layover to explore more of Tokyo. I thought about going out again during the return transit but I only had 3.5 hours and I really needed to be there to dump my BRCM options. Now I'm thinking I made a mistake not exercising the remaining 5,000 options. Stock is down $2 since last week so I'm out $10k (before tax)... :(
More Tokyo... this was walking away from Hamamatsucho station towards Tokyo Tower (Shibadaimon?). There were lots of interesting looking shops along the street (and lots of vending machines) but since it was before 6am, everything was closed, except for the 24 hour Yoshinoya.
I posted this below already; it looks like a dimsum place. The "menu" reads (L to R): egg rolls, shrimp shiumai, steamed buns, shrimp dumplings, something mantou, pork buns, and turnip cake. ¥480 is about $6... pretty expensive. Google Street view photo does not have the red stickers on the front window.
There was a massage place next to the Yoshinoya (5th floor). Judging from the prices, it's a real massage place. The "massage parlors" charge ¥25,000 and up.
It was only 6:30am and there were lots of people on the returning monorail. China has more people but I think Japan is probably more crowded in comparison since there is so little land.
Lunch on ANA flight from HND to PEK. I got the beef option (the other choice was fish) and it was surprisingly good. The cold udon was pretty good too.
Welcome to Chi**cough**na!
Sign on the back of my hotel room door, right below the useless Chinglish emergency evacuation instructions. Basically it says "Stop/Refrain from pornography, gambling, and poison (illegal drugs)". Oh, that explains the condoms and other "adults goods" for sale on my nightstand. The police cartoons are cute; not at all like the real-life thugs that beat up demonstrators and journalists.
Food items for sale at a market next to the hotel. They rearranged everything since the last time I was here. It's much more organized but the customer service is bad as before.
Lunch at Sindy's parents' apartment. They always cook too much food when I visit.
Sindy's Chow Chow "face basin"
Dinner at fancy restaurant. There was pretty much no one else there and it was already 7pm. This is some sort of root/yam that supposed to have some medicinal properties. The purple stuff is blueberry jam.
Since it was Sindy's birthday, we ordered fish with noodles which is supposed to signify long life or something.
It rained for two days while I was there. The second day was sunny and clear, though the PM2.5 and PM5 levels are probably still pretty high.
Some awesome Chinglish at a Beijing Capital Airport souvenir store. Someone tried to fix it with a thin marker but it was only marginally better.
My flight (NH1256) from Beijing to Tokyo. The air was crappy again.
Whenever there was turbulence in the air, the pilot would turn on the seat belt sign but a flight attendant also walked up/down the aisles showing a latched seat belt. I've never seen this on any other airlines.
Since international flights at Haneda were reinstated only awhile ago, the new terminal was pretty deserted. This is the central shopping area in the terminal, with stores like Gucci, Cartier, Rolex, etc.
Rolex watch for ¥3M+
Super expensive whisky from Chivas
The rest of the terminal was empty too. This was near my gate for the HND to LAX flight. People started arriving only about 60 minutes before the scheduled departure time.
What's this? Am I back in China again?!
Whew... I don't have to squat...
... and I get to wash my "posterior" too? Awesome!
This girl kept trying to take a photo of the runway area. I think this was attempt 3 out of 4 or 5. Hello? Turn off the flash so it won't reflect back and blind your camera's CCD.
MTA Green Line platform at Aviation/I-105. I was still trying to figure out the ticket vending machine when some old black dude came up to me to ask for change. Since the fare was $1.50 and I put in $2, I gave him the 50 cents. Really... even walking around at midnight in Beijing (in the rain), I was less worried than being in LA during daytime.
I wished I had more time during my first layover to explore more of Tokyo. I thought about going out again during the return transit but I only had 3.5 hours and I really needed to be there to dump my BRCM options. Now I'm thinking I made a mistake not exercising the remaining 5,000 options. Stock is down $2 since last week so I'm out $10k (before tax)... :(
Monday, August 1, 2011
WhatsApp?
I'm always looking for cheap (or free) ways to communicate with China. Since I don't have a text plan, I was using Skype to send SMS text to Sindy and it would cost me 5.5 cents for each 160 characters. On the other side, she would also pay to receive texts but her work pays for her phone charges. Anyway, a few months ago Yu-kuan told me about WhatsApp, a free (almost... you have to pay $1.99 for the app on Android after a one-year trial) but Sindy didn't have a smartphone at the time. Now that she has a Galaxy 9003 (Android), I installed it for her while I was in Beijing and it works really well. It did get stuck for a few hours over the weekend but it sends/receives almost immediately. We connected via FaceTime and validated that messages in WhatsApp takes only a few seconds.
13 years ago, I spent ~$800 on phone bills for 2 weeks while I was in Beijing, calling back to the US on my AT&T calling card.
==========
I've decided to send all my texts to Sindy using Simplified Chinese so send/receive speed is not all that important when it takes me minutes to type a short SMS text. I'm using Google Pinyin on my Android phone but she uses another input method where you type in the first letter (Pinyin) of each character you want to type; the phone would show you all phrases that matches your input. It's much faster but I not sure if I can pick out the right phrases.
13 years ago, I spent ~$800 on phone bills for 2 weeks while I was in Beijing, calling back to the US on my AT&T calling card.
==========
I've decided to send all my texts to Sindy using Simplified Chinese so send/receive speed is not all that important when it takes me minutes to type a short SMS text. I'm using Google Pinyin on my Android phone but she uses another input method where you type in the first letter (Pinyin) of each character you want to type; the phone would show you all phrases that matches your input. It's much faster but I not sure if I can pick out the right phrases.
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